The Rational Approach
by Overlithe77
Summary: Sozin sees no reason why proper planning shouldn't apply to all areas of life. Ta Min and Roku are bemused. RokuxSozinxTa Min, established relationship, polyamory. Set soon after Roku's return from Avatar training.


**Title: The Rational Approach**

**Author: overlithe**

**Fandom: **_Avatar: the Last Airbender_

**Summary: **Sozin sees no reason why proper planning shouldn't apply to all areas of life. Ta Min and Roku are bemused. RokuxSozinxTa Min, established relationship, polyamory (obviously). Set soon after Roku's return from Avatar training.

**Characters/Pairings:** RokuxSozinxTa Min

**Prompt: avatar_500** prompt 20. Spontaneous; **fanfic100** prompt 079. When?

**Word Count:** 490

**Rating:** T for minor sexual references

**Warnings:** Spreadsheets (colour-coded for your convenience).

**Disclaimer: **This story is based on characters and concepts created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and owned by Nickelodeon and various other corporations/people. I'm not making any money and do not intend any copyright or trademark infringement.

**Author's Note: **Roku/Sozin/Ta Min is my AtLA OT3; I mock because I love. Also, it seems that the more horrifying a character's future, the more I pile up the comedy and fluff when writing past!fic, while at the same time dropping hints about how exactly it will all end in tears. Call it Overlithe's Law of Recursive Irony or something. ;)

* * *

**The Rational Approach**

'There,' Sozin said, and set down his writing brush. 'It's all done.' Triumph gleamed in his voice; Ta Min almost expected a flourish of tsungi horns.

'What's all done?' she asked, and tilted her head towards the writing desk. Sozin unrolled the scroll, which almost completely covered the lacquered wood. Boxes of tightly packed characters filled the paper, carefully lined in different colours. At a distance, Ta Min was sure, the scroll would look like the nest lining of a particularly enthusiastic viper-magpie.

'That… must have taken a great deal of work,' Roku said, standing behind Sozin and looking over his shoulder. A few seconds trickled by as Sozin sat back, nudged one of the brushes until it was perfectly parallel with the others, and tucked his hands into his sleeves. Outside, a flock of komodo birds trilled shrilly.

'Oh, it was only a matter of applying logic,' Sozin said. His voice and expression were glass-smooth, but Ta Min could tell some part of him was beaming. She exchanged a glance with Roku, who promptly said, 'So what's it for?'

Sozin shook his head, then stood up and stepped into the stretch of floor between the desk and the garden doors. 'It's for us, of course.'

'For—'

'Well, think about it. We all have our obligations; our time is not really our own. Clearly the best approach is to come up with a schedule for the times when we can be… together.' He fell silent, his gaze fastened on the wall hangings beyond Ta Min's shoulder.

Roku looked at the scroll again and cleared his throat. 'You know, an Avatar's work doesn't really fit a schedule.'

'That's why I made sure to include free periods,' Sozin said. 'They're lined in purple ink,' he added.

'That's very… helpful,' Roku said. A muscle twitched in his cheek. Ta Min bit her lip.

Sozin looked at the two of them, then crossed his arms over his chest. 'Somehow, I feel you're not taking this seriously.'

The muscle in Roku's cheek twitched harder. In a few seconds, he was going to start squirming.

Which was actually a rather pleasant prospect.

'No, I think it's really thoughtful.' She stepped up to the desk and picked up one of the brushes. 'It's just that we're going to need to make some alterations.'

Roku pointed at a red-lined box. 'Switch that to two days from now.'

'Good idea.'

Sozin hurried to their side. 'Hey, you shouldn't—'

Roku grabbed his hand and he stilled. They were so close to each other Ta Min could feel the heat rising from Sozin's face, the sound of Roku's breath as his gaze trailed over her and his fingers moved over Sozin's flesh very, very slowly. Heat bloomed under her skin. Her clothes felt uncomfortably tight.

She looked down at the scroll. Ink had dripped down from the tip of her brush. 'Oh, look. There's an opening right now.'

++The End++


End file.
